318 



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The Hn-pARCiiiA SEMELE, or GRAYLING 

 BUTTERFLY. This large, curiously marked 

 species is by no means uncommon on heaths 

 and hilly places, where the caterpillar feeds 

 most probably on grass, forming a cocoon in 

 the earth, according to a French writer. This 

 latter circumstance is very curious if true, 

 and unique amongst British Butterflies ; in- 

 deed there is only one Butterfly we have 

 heard of, belonging to the genus Zegris, 

 which makes a cocoon, although further re- 

 searches may prove it to be not peculiar to 



one or two Butterflies. This species, as well 

 as others of the genus, help to enliven the 

 dullest heaths ; and the pedestrian, even 

 though 110 entomologist, cannot fail to be 

 struck with these brown butterflies and their 

 more gay but smaller comrades, the Blues or 

 Polyommati. Our figure represents the upper 

 and under sides of this species, and will 

 show, better than any description, its mark- 

 ings and peculiarities. 



The HIPPARCHIA PAMPHILUS, or GOLDEN 

 EYE. This species of Butterfly, which 

 makes its appearance in June, and again 

 in September, on every grassy heath and 

 common in the kingdom, has wings of a 

 pale tawny above ; the anterior with the 

 margins dusky, and an ocellus near the tip ; 

 the posterior nearly resembling them, with 

 an obsolete ocellus near the anal angle : be- 

 neath, the anterior wings are cinereous at the 

 base and tip, with a rather large ocellus at 

 the tip, white pupil, and whitish edge : the 

 posterior wings are greenish-brown at the 

 base, with an irregular pale band in the 

 middle, in which are several minute in- 

 distinct ocelli ; the margin greenish-brown. 

 The body is deep fulvous ; the antenna 

 tawny, with whitish anriulations. The co- 

 lour of the female is scarcely so deep as that 



of the male, nor are the wings eo distinctly 

 edged with dusky above. The Caterpillar 

 has a green hue, and is marked with white 

 dorsal lines : it appears to prefer the dog's- 

 tail grass to other food. Chrysalis green. 



The HIPPARCIIIA HITERANTHUS, or 

 BINOLET BUTTERFLY. Of this species of 

 Butterfly there are many varieties, and 

 some of them are scarce ; for the most part, 

 however, it is abundant in damp grassy 

 woods and lanes, particularly in the north 

 of Britain. The anterior wings above are 

 plain brown, frequently with one or more 

 black faintly ocellated spots ; with three 

 ocelli beneath towards the hinder margin : 

 the posterior wings are also brown above, 

 with two or more obsolete ocelli : beneath, 

 with two approximating ocelli behind the 

 middle of the anterior margin, and three 

 parallel with the hinder margin : all the 

 wings are paler beneath, and edged with a 

 whitish fringe. The body is fuscous, paler 

 beneath : the antennas brown and lightly 

 annulated. Caterpillar gray or dusky, with 

 a black line behind ; it subsists chiefly on the 

 meadow grass, and resides at its roots : the 

 chrysalis is bright brown, obscurely streaked. 



The HIPPARCHIA JANIRA, or MEADOW 

 BROWN BUTTERFLY. We know of none 

 among the tribe of papilionaceous insects 

 that is more common than this species ; 

 not a meadow or lane in Britain being 

 scarcely to be seen in the month of July 

 where it is wholly absent. The wings are 

 of a dull dark brown or nearly black, the 

 male usually having on the surface of the 

 anterior pair near the tip a black ocellus 

 with a white pupil ; beneath fulvous, with 

 the hinder margin grayish-brown : posterior 

 wings beneath tawiiy- brown, with two or 

 three dusky spots. Female generally with 

 a large irregular tawny orange blotch on 

 the anterior wings above, in which, as in the 

 male, is an ocellus. In some specimens there 

 is a deep black patch on the disc of the an- 

 terior wings ; while in others irregular and 

 undefined white blotches occur on various 

 parts of the wings. The Caterpillar, which 

 is green, with a white lateral line, and 

 thickly covered with hair, feeds on meadow 

 grass : the Chrysalis is yellowish-green, with 

 dusky streaks on the head and wing-cases. 



Knapp, speaking of it in his very interest- 

 ing Journal of a Naturalist, where he de- 

 scribes the common occurrences of nature as 

 observed near a village in the west of Eng- 

 land, says, " Amid the tribes of insects par- 

 ticularly influenced by seasons, there are a 

 few which appear little affected by common 

 events ; the brown meadow butterfly, so 

 well known to every one, I have never 

 missed in any year : and in those damp and 

 cheerless summers when even the white 

 cabbage butterfly is scarcely to be found, 

 this creature may be seen in every transient 

 gleam, drying its wings, and tripping from 

 flower to flower with animation and life, 

 nearly the sole possessor of the field and its 

 sweets. Dry and exhausting as the summer 

 may be, yet this dusky butterfly is uninjured 

 by it, and we see it in profusion hovering 

 about the sapless foliage." 



